Las Vegas Courtroom Judge Assailant to Serve Lengthy Sentence

The man who leaped across a judge’s desk to assault her after he was handed a sentence, has been sentenced to 26 to 65 years in prison. The judge who handed him the latest sentence slammed his earlier assault as “an attack on the judiciary.”

The Attack Became Viral

At the beginning of the year, Deobra Delone Redden, now 31, was denied bail by District Judge Mary Kay Holthus. Upon hearing this, he exploded, shouted “Oh, fuck that bitch,” and leapt at the judge. Judge Holthus was hurt in the assault and so were a marshal and a police officer who tried to stop the fight.

Holthus later said that she believed Redden was trying to kill her.

Redden’s leap became viral on the internet, with some making jokes, parodies and remixes of the unorthodox situation. Needless to say, the Clark County authorities were not as amused by Redden’s blatant disregard for authority.

For context, he was being sued for attacking another person with a baseball bat and causing significant injuries. The judge handed him 19 to 48 months in prison without parole, which aggravated him, leading to the violent outburst.

In any case, the attack on Judge Holthus incurred charges of battery and attacking a protected person.

Redden’s Attorney Tried to Secure a More Lenient Sentence

Redden was now sentenced by District Judge Susan Johnson who wasn’t pleased with his earlier actions. While his sentencing went without accident this time, she said that his attack on Holthus represented an attack on the judiciary.

Redden denied that he intended to kill Holthus. The defense also claimed that the man was suffering from schizophrenia and had not taken his medications on the day of his assault.

Redden’s past involvement in violence didn’t help his case. With 12 other convictions behind his back, he convinced the prosecution that he could not control his impulses.

The defense argued that Redden’s mental illness should be taken into account and tried to get a sentence of 4 to 11 years in prison. His attorney agreed that a message has to be sent but also argued that “throwing away the key and giving him [Redden] a whole bunch of years benefits no one.”

While the prosecution acknowledged the mental illness, they said that his doctor had clearly pointed out that Redden had the capacity to tell right from wrong. As a result, they hoped for a lengthier sentence.

After the process, the defense insisted that the sentence, although unsurprising, was unfair.